Method of manufacturing infusion packages



Allg'. 20, 1946. H, Q |RMSHER .2,406,018 l ME-THoD oF MANUFACTURING INFUsIoN PACKAGES vFiled 0G12. 14, 1942 rlmumlunu mmllllmmml '.INVEVNTORQ HANS o. /QMSCHEQ A T Top/VEY Patented ug. 20, 1946 UNHTED SES FFICE METHOD F MANUFACTURING ENFUSION PACKAGES Hans 0. Irmscher, East Hempstead, Long Island,

N. Y., assigner to Nati Long Island City, York onal Urn Bag Co., Inc., N. Y., a corporation of New Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of lled containers or bags, and more particularly is directed Ito infusion packages, such as tea-balls with handles and like articles of manufacture.

Among the objects of the invention is to gem erally improve the construction of lled containers or bag-s in the form of infusion packages With handles as inexpensive articles of manufac- Z lamina. Where lter paper is used as sheet material II, the base layer is made of vegetable ture, which shall comprise few and simple parts,

which shall be easy and cheap to manufacture, which shall be capable of quantity production on automatic super high-speed packaging machines, which shall have pressure heat sealed joint seams forming an improved attachment connection of a string handle with the bag portion of each package, and which shall be practical and eicient to a high degree in use.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and in par-t hereinafter pointed out. The invention accordingly consists of features of Aconstructions, combinations of elements, arrange? ments of parts which will be exemplied in the constructions and method hereinafter described and of which the scope of the application will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing in which are shown various possible illustrative embodiments of this invention.

Fig. 1 is a View showing a method embodying the invention as applied to the manufacture of tea-balls.

Fig. 2 is a view as seen from lines 2 2 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of a completely manufactured tea-ball and string handle embodying the invention.

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional View taken on lines 4 4 in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a View showing a variation of Ithe improved method of manufacturing tea-balls embodying the invention, and

Figs. 6 and 'l are sectional views taken on lines 8 6 and 'I l, respectively, in Fig. 5.

Referring in detail to the drawing, I!) denotes a tea-ball completely manufactured and constructed to embody the invention.

In practising the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. lto 4 inclusive, heat sealing sheet material Il may be used in making a bag Ia of said tea-ball I0 in which the contents T is enclosed. Said heat sealing sheet material II may be of any suitable foraminous construction, such as filter paper, nely perforated parchment or Cellophane, cotton gauze and the like layer base treated or coated with a dry thermosetting plastic brous pulp stock which is coated with the dry porous lamina, so lthat when made into tea-ball bags Illa has suicient wet strength to withstand immersion in boiling water without damage or disintegration and without loss of tensile strength. Bags Illa of tea-balls I0 made of Said filter sheet material Il permits ready infusion and must have such composition that it is insoluble in hot water, produces no toxic eifects, and imparts no odor or taste even to the slightest degree to the brew.

The bag Ita of the tea-ball Ill for economy may be produced on a super high output teaball manufacturing machine such as described and shown in applicants copending application, Ser. No. 450,289, led July 9, 1942, for Infusion package manufacture, and may comprise materials assembled and heat sealed as shown and described in said applicants aforementioned application with the addition of providing a string handle i2 in the manner hereinafter set forth.

When coated lter paper is used as sheet material I I, it has been found in practice that a 61/2 pound brous stock sheet of approximately 001 inch thick of high wet tensile strength forms a practical filter paper base layer for Ithe pur-v poses described herein. On such layer nely powdered copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate may be uniformly sprinkled or sprayed, partially fused by heat to C., and pressure rolled thereon for providing a pervious, dry and extremely thin coating or lamina which does not materially affect the filtering capacity of said layer. Approximately three ounces of such vinyl powder for each pound of said layer will form a porous coating or lamina of normally less Ithan .0005 inch thick.

Tea-ball bags Ilia when constructed of the aforementioned sheet material II have the lamina or coating side of the filter material II as the interior surface of the tea-bali bag Illa. The edge seam joints Ib and top seam closure Iiic of said bag Ilia for enclosing .the con-tents 'I' are then formed by having the coating surfaces placed in face to face relation, pressure heat sealed into permanent adhesion. With said coatings formed of copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate permanent sealing fusion of said joints IIIb and closure Ille will take place when pressure heat sealed at about C.

The present invention is directed particularly to the manufacture of tea-balls I I) with permanently attached string handles.` When coated heat sealingl filter sheet material II is used in machines such as described in my said copending application, Ser, No. 450,289, such sheet material I I is fed from a suitable supply as a continuous strip or web and while continuously travelling through is folded centrally thereof to provide a longitudinally extending bottom fold lod. Said web While being folded is engaged by a series of spaced movable pincer jaws, indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 in dotted lines at J to provide section units which are filled with uniform quantities of tea T by suitable measuring device (not shown) in any well understood manner through the top openings of the bags before the same are heat sealed. Said bag top openings of the section units are then permanently heat sealed as at closure Hic, spaces S being left unsealed between each of said section units.

To provide a string handle for each unit section in practising the invention, a continuous length of string is formed into sinusoid or wave-like coniiguration having a series of looped handle portion l2 alternately disposed with relation to a series of bights lia by means of suitable spaced pins P,

so constructed and arranged as to engage one or more of string portion forming said bights ifa, the latter being inserted into the moving folded web through the unsealed portions S at the top openings of the unit sections, as shown in Figs. l

and 2. The successive bights No remain in their inserted position between the unit section of folded web when the pins P are withdrawn. I'ihen suitable pressure heat sealing means (not shown) are applied in any well understood manner to permanently heat seal partition joints ille between the unit section thereby embedding the portions of the string forming the bightgl I2a therein all While the filled unit section formed from said web is kept moving or travelling through machine. One or more of the leading section units are then severed from the leading end of such travelling web by a suitable knife or cutter K so as to leave complete individual tea-balls lil with attached string bail handles i2 as shown in Fig. l.

It is to be uriderstood that the portions ef the i string handle forming the bights 12a embedded into the heat sealed partition joints ille may eX- tend any suitable distance within said sealed partition joints in order to assure positive attachment anchorage. As shown in Figs, 1 and 3, the

portions forming the bights Ira extend through a great part of the length of the partition joints liie, the nights IEa and the partition joint hie being severed by the cutter K centrally at their midportion leaving the edge joints seal at lb intact. The portion of the strings embedded in each of the severed joints lilb is formed of a sein-ibight 12o which extends to the edge of the joint Ib. Preferably the surfaces of heat sealed partition joints ie and closure ic may be corrugated as shown to increase the bondages of said joints and improve the appearance of the finished tea-balls lil. The bail handle l2 provided on each tea-ball l0 is non-tangling to facilitate packing for shipment and for dispensing when used, and requires no alteration in the tea-ball structure by the user for making the suspension package handle available for the brewing operation.

Where the invention is practiced in connection with other forms of high speed tea-ball making machines such as those operating, as for example, as shown in Figs. 5, 6 and where the travelling folded web is first heat sealed with the spaced partition joints I Ie forming successive unit sections which are lled with the tea or the like T before the top sealed closures Ilc are applied, the string handle I2 is formed into the sinusoid or wave-like configuration in the same manner as described above, while the unit sections are being formed and filled, and the bights 12a are inserted only to a depth to the top ends of partitions joints ilile after which the top closures are heat sealed with joints I Hic permanently anchoring the bight portions of the string handle. Thereafter, one or more leading sealed section units, each with a handle I2 may be severed from the moving web for providing the tea-ball Hii with a string bail handle l2.

It is thus therefore seen that there is provided an improved method of manufacture and an article in which the objects of the invention are achieved and which are well adapted to meet all conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments may be made in the above invention and as various changes might be made in the embodiments and method above set forth, it is understood that all the above matters here set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Thus having described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. in a method of manufacturing of the character described, the steps of continuously moving and folding a strip of heat sealing bag sheet inaterial to form spaced apart filled section units with closed bottoms, arranging a string in wave-like configuration with alternate loop and bight portions, inserting said bight portions into the sheet material between the section units, heat sealing said sheet material about each section unit for permanently embedding the inserted string bight portions in seam joint portions between said section units, and severing said seam joint and the bight string portions embedded therein centrally for completing successive individual packages each with loop string handle portion havin-g the ends thereof permanently anchored in oppositely positioned 'neat sealed joints of each package to provide a bail handle.

2. The method as defined in claim i in which said steps of arranging the string and inserting the bight portions are carried out concurrently with the steps of forming the lled section units.

3. In the method of manufacturing packages formed with spaced heat sealed seam joints, the steps of arranging a string with alternate loop and bight portions in wave-like configuration, inserting the string bight portions within successive joints prior to the heat sealing thereof, heat sealing and severing the heat sealed joint and each bight portion to form a bail handle of said string loop portions with a split bight portion anchored in a split portion of the heat sealed joints on individual packages cut off by the severing operaformed with heat sealed seam side joints of uniform width extending thereabout, filling said bags, arranging in wavelike Configuration a string with relatively large Vloops and narrower bight portions spaced therebetween, inserting the spaced bight portions of said arranged string in position between the bags, and heat sealing a top closure seam joint to incorporate said bight portions for permanently anchoring same, and splitting said side joints centrally to provide a looped bail handle extending across the width and beyond each bag a sufficient distance to serve as a iinger gripping means.

5. A method of making tea-balls which comprises placing heat sealing lter paper in face to face relation and forming a series of section units of bags having uniformly spaced joints with a charge of tea in each bag unit between said joints, arranging a string in wave-like configuration with alternate loops and bights so that the loops extend beyond the bag units a sucient distance to provide a finger gripping means and the bights inserted in position between said units in said joints 10 handles.

HANS O. IRMSCHER. 

